#adhd and anxiety

[my-autism-adhd-blog]

ADHD & Anxiety

Future ADHD

[6catsandanerdo]

You see, I don't speak much when I meet new people and they think I'm an introvert or dislike them, while I actually keep quiet because I don't wanna them to know that I'm an idiot.

[sentimental-apathy]

I'm so tired of being chronically ill and not being able to be independent because I live in a society that not only makes qualifying for disability benefits extremely difficult to prove but then doesn't even give you access to the necessary resources that could help treat and improve your chronic symptoms in order to make it easier for you to work a job.

[luvalwayslanora]

Alrighty,

so on my little journey away it’s been surely something. There’s been little delays and now it’s time to try the one thing I have never done in 31 years. ADHD meds 😳!

Am I worried?? Um kinda. I tried two others for like a week in the beginning of 2022 and just stopped completely. One of them had me very very very emotional. Like I would cry everyday 🥺😫.

I really wanna try to work on my time blindness. There’s a lot of shame there ☹️. And it’s not shame that I ever felt personally, just the shame coming from others who don’t understand. So here we go 😮‍💨💕.

Living in this world, rules are meant to keep order from chaos which yea, I get it. Just this one for attendance and the negative reaction to those who really struggle to follow this rule DOES NOT MEAN :

We are lazy

We don’t care

Aren’t mindful

Do this on purpose

Have no regard for others that it may effect

And aren’t trying to be on time

Using our neurological differences as an excuse

I’m just saying, I’m tired of it 🙄. As someone who has navigated life without treatment I can proudly say I’ve been able to achieve a good attendance when I’m calm, confident and at peace. Just the moments when I’m not and the anxiety acts up is a real ughhhh. Medication is a choice and I’m not saying anyone has to take it. This is something I’d like to try and see it can improve things I’ve been trying to do myself as best as I can 💗✨.

* High five to everyone else who’s always trying their best too 🤗!!*

[brain-isnt-braining]

I have 2 neurotypical friends and I love them dearly but honestly it pisses me off how they always talk about me smoking too much grass, not a single time has a neurodivergent friend mentioned this shit to me because they all get it! It’s so helpful and they will simply never get how it feels from our perspective and that’s okay but just don’t fucking judge me, it’s not hurting you so stfu and let me get high in peace ☺️🫶🏼

[sinukiyo]

This made me feel a lot better about not completing my tasks and motivated me too. I feel like I’ll always come back to it.

‘am i Having A Brain Problem or Being a Shithead’: a short procrastination checklist

aka why tf am i procrastinating on The Thing (more like a flowchart, actually)

lots of people who have executive function difficulties worry about whether they’re procrastinating on a task out of laziness/simply wanting to be a jerk or mental struggles. this checklist might help you figure out which it is at any given time! (hint: it’s almost never laziness or being a jerk.) (obligatory disclaimer: this is just what works for me! something different might work better for you.)

1) do I honestly intend to start the task despite my lack of success?

yes: it’s a Brain Problem. next question

no: it’s shitty to say one thing & do another. better be honest with myself & anyone expecting me to do the task.

2) am I fed, watered, well-rested, medicated properly, etc?

yes: next question

no: guess what? this is the real next task

3) does the idea of starting the task make me feel scared or anxious?

yes: Anxiety Brain. identify what’s scaring me first.

no: next question

4) do I know how to start the task?

yes: next question

no: ADHD Brain. time to make an order of operations list.

5) do I have everything I need to start the task?

yes: next question

no: ADHD Brain lying to me about the steps again, dangit. first task is ‘gather the materials’.

6) why am i having a hard time switching from my current task to this new task?

i’m having fun doing what i’m doing: it’s okay to have fun doing a thing! if task is time-sensitive, go to next question.

i have to finish doing what i’m doing: might be ADHD brain. can I actually finish the current task or will I get trapped in a cycle? does this task really need to be finished?

the next task will be boring/boring-er than the current task: ADHD brain. re-think the next task. what would make it exciting? what am I looking forward to?

I might not have enough time to complete the task: ADHD brain wants to finish everything it starts. (if task is time-sensitive, go to next question)

i just want to make the person who asked me to do it angry: sounds like anxiety brain trying to punish itself, because I know I’ll be miserable if someone is angry at me. why do i think I deserve punishment?

no, I seriously want to piss them off: okay, i’m being a shithead

7) have I already procrastinated so badly that I now cannot finish the task in time?

yes: ADHD brain is probably caught in a guilt-perfection cycle. since I can’t have the task done on time, i don’t even want to start.

reality check: having part of a thing done is almost always better than none of a thing done. if I can get an extension, having part of it done will help me keep from stalling out until the extension deadline. i’ll feel better if I at least try to finish it.

no, there’s still a chance to finish on time: ADHD brain thinks that I have all the time in the world, but the truth is I don’t. 

reality check: if i’m having fun doing what I’m doing, I can keep doing it, but I should probably set a timer & ask someone to check on me to make sure I start doing the task later today.

8) I’ve completed the checklist and still don’t know what’s wrong!

probably wasn’t honest enough with myself. take one more look.

if I’m still mystified, ask a friend to help me talk it out.

hope this helps some of you! YOU’RE DOING GREAT SWEETIE DON’T GIVE UP ON YOU

[thisartisfine]

I drew the gang,

[burntblueberrywaffles]

Bestie I can feel rejected by things you wouldn’t even think of

[justlikeitwas]

Relationships are weird as fuck man.

I mean, I haven’t been trying all that long, all things considered, but I have no idea how this shit works.

I talked to one guy I met on hinge, he lives 20 minutes from me, and he ghosted me after three weeks. Now, I could see it coming. The second week he pulled out of our first meeting, and he was kind of hit and miss, and by the third week he was barely answering. I constantly found myself expecting him to say he wasn’t interested. Whatever, he talked about drinking too much for my liking and he had a pretty busy schedule. I don’t want to constantly wonder if the person I’m talking to is talking to someone else.

Then there was another guy. He was bad at dirty talk and told me he had fantasies about his cousin, so that was a no.

So now, I’m talking to W. We matched on hinge October 11, 2024, we’re the same age, and so far I really like him. We have met once at the mall, but he lives about 2 hours away and I don’t have my license yet. We interact every day, even if it’s just a good morning or a good night and a reel here and there, and I think we have similar interests in sex (we’re both switches with a weakness for praise). I really like him, and I want to explore a relationship with him. Do I just go forward, assuming we are in a relationship? He said he wanted to meet to feel sure, and he kissed me a few times when we did meet this last Sunday, and the level of communication has not changed, but he hasn’t said anything. Do I ask? I’m probably going to ask.

[weekendviking]

OP's comments have some people directly challenging this, but it seems to come from here:

Which I've previously found to be a relatively useful compilation site for ADHD advice.

When a person with ADHD complains of severe anxiety, I recommend that the clinician not immediately accept the patient’s label for her emotional experience. A clinician should say, “Tell me more about your baseless, apprehensive fear,” which is the definition of anxiety. More times than not, a person with ADHD hyperarousal will give a quizzical look and respond, “I never said I was afraid.” If the patient can drop the label long enough to describe what the feeling is like, a clinician will likely hear, “I am always tense; I can’t relax enough to sit and watch a movie or TV program. I always feel like I have to go do something.” The patients are describing the inner experience of hyperactivity when it is not being expressed physically.

At the same time, people with ADHD also have fears that are based on real events in their lives. People with ADHD nervous systems are consistently inconsistent. The person is never sure that her abilities and intellect will show up when they are needed. Not being able to measure up at the job or at school, or in social circles is humiliating. It is understandable that people with ADHD live with persistent fear. These fears are real, so they do not indicate an anxiety disorder.

holy SHIT

[chronicsymptomsyndrome]

*displays textbook symptomatic behavior of my own disorder that I am well educated on* what’s my deal why am I like this

[6catsandanerdo]

Yes, I'm a very honest person who hates lying, yes I tell small lies every day to avoid being shamed and judged by others. We exist.

[quackquackquackin]

since I have both adhd and anxiety i took both the creatures and combined them into one species.

I call it the “holy shit”

[madpunks]

poor memory is a huge deal and i wish people wouldn't diminish it by saying "oh yeah i can't remember what i had for breakfast lol."

i can't remember the first 10 years of my life. i can't remember entire days, weeks, months at a time. i can't remember entire people, i can't remember names or faces. i can't remember when things are scheduled for, my calendar app on my phone is booked to the max with reminders and task checklists. i can't remember when i moved into what home when, i can't remember important milestone dates like when i got or lost certain jobs, or when i started a new hobby.

that's what i mean when i say i have poor memory. poor memory is so scary for the person who has it. it's not a quirky thing, everyone forgets small details. memory problems are scary because you can go through entire events or days with no memory, or plan for things in the future that you can't recall ever even looking into or scheduling. it's not a funny haha kind of thing, it's serious, and it affects a lot of people in very unavoidable ways.

not being able to plan for appointments or work schedules, not being able to remember people's names or faces, not being able to recall whether or not you were present for something or whether or not you met someone, not being able to keep track of what's happening on what dates and losing track of items because you can't remember where you put them are all very real problems, and anyone dealing with them deserves to be taken seriously, and not diminished when they choose to speak up about it.

[cozylittleartblog]

❌ shoulder angel

❌ shoulder devil

✅ shoulder autism

[anywhere-anywhere]

magic mountain